CBSE Board Class 12 English Core Previous Year Question Papers 2008

ENGLISH (Core) 2008
Time allowed : 3 hours] [Maximum marks: 100
General Instructions :
(i) This paper is divided into three sections:  A, B and  C. All the sections are compulsory.
(ii) Separate instructions are given with each section and question, wherever necessary.
Read these instructions very carefully and follow them faithfully.
(iii) Do  not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.
SECTION A : READING
1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
1. Millions of men and women, thousands of leaders, a succession of social,
religious and  political movements - it is impossible to draw up a full
list of the makers of India even  on a limited 1000-year basis. “All that
can be attempted here is to present a few  representative names, some
of them inspirational still. All of them remind us of the  course we have
traversed, and how we have come to where we are. Let us make a start
with the best ever Indian.
2 Implied in Toynbee’s assessment was the deduction that Gandhi was not
just an Indian  phenomenon. No doubt India derived unequalled benefit
3. The true measure of his impact on history is that it is not dependent
on the successful completion of his mission in India. The others who
soldiered on with him in the epic war  of independence - Jawaharlal Nehru
and Sardar Patel included - will be remembered  for what they did in
India and for India; they were essentially Indian personalities. So, for
that matter, was Jinnah whose life’s work boiled down to the creation
of a state on  what rapidly proved to be a dubious premise.
4. Gandhi soared above them all because he dealt essentially with  ideas
and theories  relevant to all mankind. Like Buddhism, Gandhism lost
ground in the land out of which  it evolved. But, like Buddhism, it has
been embraced by distant peoples who see in its  tenets the promise of
a meaningful life. It was as though Gandhi’s involvement with  India was
merely incidental to his larger involvement with what he persistently
called  Truth. Raja Rao put it pithily when he wrote: “For Gandhi India
was only the symbol  of a universal principle. All countries were, for
Gandhi, India.” When we look at him in  this perspective, we realise that
it was his universality, the transcendent quality of his  life and thought,
that made Gandhi Gandhi.
5. He will be greater than not just Stalin and Hitler - two characters who
are rather too  one-dimensional to be contrasted with the vastness that
was Gandhi. Gandhi personifies  the greatness of the time-honoured
proposition that Love is superior to Hatred, that  Good is better than Evil. Great personages
on conquests and oppression, have all gone under. The Byzantines and
the Ottomans, the Mongols and the Mughals, the British and the Spanish
once strode  the earth as if they owned it. Today only Britain and Spain
survive, and that as  second-class entities confined to Europe. Alexander,
the first king in history to be called  “The Great,” died a lonely death
as a disillusioned and defeated man at the incredible  age of 33. Nothing
of his greatness remains today even in his native Macedonia which is
now but an appendage to the horrible tragedy of Yugoslavia.
6. Greatness built on murder and acquisition passes. Greatness rising out
of compassion  and service abides. The Buddha abides. Christ abides. The
great unknown thinkers of  the Upanishads abide. Gandhi carried that
tradition through to our times. He might  have been let down by the
“Gandhians” who, armed with political power, have turned  India into a
mess. That too is parallel to the way quarrelling Buddhists, exploitative
Christians and lately-intolerant Hindus have been letting down their
preceptors. But  their smallness does not detract from the true greatness
of the sages who opened the  path of enlightenment for them and for
the world. They abide because they gave without taking. They were not
men of arms. They were men of ideas.  Parithranaya sadhunam,  they
appear from age to age. They appear to teach us that the world can be
conquered,  not with force, but with ideas. It was the lesson of this
Millennium too - taught by the  Man of the Millennium.
(a) (i) What did Gandhi achieve through his philosophy of justice and
fairness ? 2
(ii) How will Jawahar Lal Nehru and Sardar Patel be remembered ? 1
(iii) According to Raja Rao, what did Gandhi represent ? 2
(iv) The author talks of two types of greatness. Which one is much
appreciated and  admired ? 2
(v) What was the lesson of this millennium ? 2
(b) Pick out one word from the passage that means the same as : 3
(i) continuous decrease/fall (para 2)
(ii) strong effect (para 3)
(iii) rose quickly (para 4)
2. Read the passage given below :
The tests of life are its plus factors. Overcoming illness and suffering is a plus
factor for  it moulds character. Steel is iron plus fire, soil is rock plus heat. So
let’s include the  plus factor in our lives.
Sometimes the plus factor is more readily seen by the simple-hearted. Myers
tells the  story of a mother who brought into her home - as a companion to
her own son - a  little boy who happened to have a hunchback. She had warned
her son to be careful not  to refer to his disability, and to go right on playing
with him as if he were like any other boy.
The boys were playing and after a few minutes she overheard her son say to
his companion : “Do you know what you have got on your back ?” The little
boy was embarrassed, but before he could reply, his playmate continued: “It
is the box in which  your wings are and some day God is going to cut it open
and then you will fly away and  be an angel”.
Often it takes a third eye, or a change in focus, to see the plus factor. Walking
along the corridors of a hospital recently where patients were struggling with
fear of pain and  tests, I was perturbed. What gave me fresh perspective were
the sayings put up  everywhere, intended to uplift. One saying made me conscious
of the beauty of the  universe in the midst of pain, suffering and struggle. The
other saying assured me that  God was with me when I was in deep water and
that no troubles would overwhelm me.
The import of those sayings also made me aware of the nether springs that
flow into  people’s lives when they touch rock-bottom or lonely, or even deserted.
The nether springs make recovery possible, and they bring peace and patience
in the midst of pain and distress.
The forces of death and destruction are not so much physical as they are psychic
and  psychological. When malice, hate and hard-heartedness prevail, they get
channelled as  forces of destruction. Where openness, peace and good-heartedness
prevail, the forces of  life gush forth to regenerate hope and joy. The life force is
triumphant when love overcomes fear. Both fear and love are deep  mysteries,
but the effect of love is to build whereas fear tends to destroy. Love is often
the plus factor that helps build character. It helps us to accept and to overcome
suffering. It creates lasting bonds and its reach is infinite.
It is true that there is no shortage of destructive elements - forces and people
who seek  to destroy others and in the process, destroy themselves - but at the
same time there  are signs of love and life everywhere that are constantly enabling
us to overcome  setbacks. So let’s not look only at gloom and doom - let’s seek
out positivity and  happiness. For it is when you seek that you will find what
is waiting to be discovered.
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it
using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations, wherever necessary. 5
(b) Write a summary of the above passage in 80 words using the notes made
and also suggest a suitable title. 
SECTION B : ADVANCED WRITING SKILLS
3. You plan to sell your two wheeler. Draft a suitable advertisement in not more
than 50 words to be inserted in the classified columns of a local daily,  giving
all necessary details of the two wheeler. You are Sumit/Sudha, 15, Krishna Nagar,
Delhi. 5
OR
Recent rains have caused havoc in some parts of our country. You are Surya,
a member of the social service organization, SEVA MANDIR, Ahmedabad. Draft
a poster requesting people to help the rain and flood afflicted families physically
and economically.
4. You are Rama of Gandhi Sen. Sec. School, Kolkata. You visited a Science
Exhibition organised by the city schools recently. Write a brief report in 100-
125 words for your school magazine on what you saw, the exhibit you liked
most and other special features of the exhibition. 10
OR
You are Rama, studying in Sun Public School, Bangalore. Every year your school
celebrates the ‘World Health Day’ that falls on 7th April. Write a  report for
your school newsletter in 100-125 words on how the day was celebrated this
year.
5. You are Apoorva, B-120, Malviya Nagar, Chennai. Read the advertisement given
below and write a letter to the advertiser, applying for the job. 10
INDIAN PHARMACEUTICALS,
20 Coast Road, Kochi, requires
Trainee Medical Representatives.
Candidates should be Science or Pharmacy graduates and below 25 years of
age. Fluency in English and any one of the regional languages is essential.
Attractive stipend with handsome working allowances will be offered during
training period. After successful completion of the training, the candidates will
be appointed on regular basis. Please apply with complete resume and a passport
size photograph at the above address.
OR
You are Apoorva, Physical Education Teacher of Wisdom Public School, New
Delhi. Write a letter to the Sales Manager of Bharat Sports Limited, New Delhi placing
an orde r   for   spor t s   a r t i c l e s   and  a c c e s sor i e s   tha t  you wi sh  to pur cha s e
for your school. Also ask for the discount permissible on the purchase.
6. You are Bala, a social worker and freelance writer, much concerned about the
discriminatory treatment given to females right from their birth in the Indian
society. Write an article in 150-200 words throwing light on this problem and
giving suggestions for putting an end to it. 10
OR
You are Bala, a social worker, much concerned about the practice of keeping
building materials on roadsides and pavements. Write an article in 150-200 words
on how this encroachment not only leads to health and hygiene problems but
also endangers life and property. Give suitable suggestions for putting an end
to this practice.
SECTION C : LITERATURE
7. (a) Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follows :
Freedom from the anarchy of a destiny
whose sails are weakly yielded to the blind uncertain winds,
and the helm to a hand ever rigid and cold as death.
(i) Whose freedom is referred to in the above lines ? 1
(ii) What does the poet mean by the anarchy of a destiny ? 2
(iii) Describe the simile used in the last line. 1
OR
I heard a thousand blended notes
While in a grove I sat reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.
(i) Where was the poet ? 1
(ii) What did he hear ? 1
(iii) Why did the poet feel sad though he was in a happy mood ? 2
(b) Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each : 3×2 = 6
(i) Why does the poet call the lily a flower of light ?
(ii) In  the poem, Once Upon a Time, what does the poet want to relearn ?
(iii) Why did the priest give the gold plate to the peasant ?
8. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each : 5×2 = 10
(a) Why was it almost impossible for a man to live on the Andaman
Islands ?
(b) What was the contribution of the Brahmo Samaj towards the emancipation
of Indian women ?
(c) What important problems of the Science of Language can be studied in
India ?
(d) What, according to Bertrand Russell, is the first requisite of happiness ?
(e) How did Mr. Gupta react when he was asked to gaze into the ring ?
Why ?
9. Answer the following question in 125-150 words : 10
Humour is the most dominant feature in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’.
Give four instances of humour from the play in support of the statement.
OR
What happened in the Westbury explosion ? How did Markwardt and Mr. Parsons
react to the happening ? Who do you appreciate ? Why ?
10. Answer the following question in 125-150 words : 7
The title, ‘The Hour of Truth’ is apt. Substantiate.
OR
What should the youth of India realize ? Write on the four dimensions that
Dr. Karan Singh suggests to them.
11. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each : 4×2 = 8
(a) Mrs. Wang was very humane. Give two examples from the text in support
of this statement.
(b) How should one guard oneself while conversing in mixed companies ?
(c) When Barin met C the second time in the train, how did he feel ?
Why ?
(d) Who would you call a better person - the lawyer or the banker ?
Why ?